LGBT+ Ministry Task Force
Witness and Service Ministry Team
The Witness and Service Ministry Team strategic direction: We will enhance lives of service to deal with social needs and issues that arise in local communities or across the synod.
The LGBT+ Ministry Task Force exists to assist congregations in welcoming gay and lesbian people and their families in the church. Established in 1998, it is part of the social ministry network of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The synod adopted a Continuing Resolution (#39) in 2001 to make known its caring and concern for gay and lesbian people and their families and to become a Reconciling in Christ Synod.
The task force provides resources, information, and education about the full inclusion of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in Christ into the life of the church, an inclusion to which we are called by longstanding ELCA documents.
Resources Available
Synod Resource Center
Many printed, audio, and video resources are available in the Synod Resource Center. See below for a list of titles and authors. For a complete list plus a description of each resource, click here.
| ResCode | Title | Author |
| V21615 | Call to Witness | |
| CURR12 | Claiming the Promise – Leader’s Guide | Mary Jo Osterman |
| CURR13 | Claiming the Promise – Participant Book | Mary Jo Osterman |
| BI23 | Congregational Hospitality to Gay & Lesbian People: Resources for Congregations | ELCA Division for Outreach |
| V818 | Conversations With Luther | Dr. Timothy Lull |
| B463 | Faithful Conversation: Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality | James M. Childs, Jr. |
| BLT139 | For All the Saints – Stoles Project | |
| DVD48 | Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor: Lutherans Talk About Human Sexuality – A Video Companion Guide | Church in Society |
| B619 | Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor (ELCA Studies on Sexuality: Journey Together Faithfully, Part Three) | Church in Society |
| B462 | Homosexuality and Christian Faith | Walter Wink |
| PHP8 | Homosexuality and the Bible | Walter Wink |
| V2262 | Inclusive Faith | |
| B36 | Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?: Another Christian View | Letha Scanzoni & Virginia Ramey Mellenknott |
| BLT118 | Journey Together Faithfully: ELCA Studies on Sexuality – Part 1 | Division for Church in Society |
| BLT119 | Journey Together Faithfully: ELCA Studies on Sexuality – Part 2 | Division for Church in Society |
| B37 | More than Welcome… | Maurine C. Waun |
| V1051 | Mosaic (Winter 1999) | |
| V2283 | One Christian’s Journey | |
| B322 | One Teenager in Ten | Ann Heron, ed. |
| PHP9 | Same-Gender Unions? Ordination? | Ron Rude |
| B612 | Sexual Fulfillment for Single and Married, Straight and Gay, Young and Old | Herbert Chilstrom & Lowell Erdahl |
| V2280 | Stories of Gay People and Family Members | |
| V2276 | Talking Together As Christians About Homosexuality | ELCA |
| V21733 | The ELCA in Dialogue – We Need to Talk! | ELCA |
| >B35 | The Family Heart: A Memoir of When Our Son Came Out | Robb Forman Dew |
| B869 | The New Testament and Homosexuality | Robin Scroggs |
| V2261 | This is My Story: Congregational Version | |
| V21686 | What do You Say When Someone You Love Says, I’m Gay? | Lutherans Concerned |
| V1296 | What’s Religion Got to Do With Sex? | EcuFilm |
Reconciling in Christ Information
Assistance can be given to congregations that are considering becoming Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregations and who want to state their welcome publicly. If you are interested in any of the services provided by the task force, please contact glneps@yahoo.com.
Synod Reconciling in Christ Congregations and Organizations
- Arndt’s Lutheran Church, 1851 Arndt Road, Easton 18040-8147; http://www.arndtslutheran.org/
- Egner Memorial Chapel, Muhlenberg College, 2400 W. Chew St., Allentown, PA 18104-5564
- Lutheran Campus Ministry – Kutztown University, 15175 Kutztown Rd., Kutztown, PA 19530-9201
- Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, 3461 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Emmaus, PA 18049-1523; http://www.holyspirit-emmaus.org
- Lutheran Youth Fellowship, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA, 2354 Grove Road, Allentown PA 18109-3044
- Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, 2354 Grove Road, Allentown PA 18109-3044; http://www.godslove.org
- St. John Lutheran Church, 37 S. 5th St., Allentown, PA 18101-1607; http://stjohnsallentown.org
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, 330 Ferry St., Easton, PA 18042-4539; http://www.stjohnseaston.com
- St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, 474 Vine St., Bethlehem, PA 18015-1640; http://stpetersbethlehem.org
- Trinity Lutheran Church, 527 Washington St., Reading, PA 19601-3420; http://oldtrinity.org/
- Zion United Lutheran Church, 1919 Route 209, Brodheadsville, PA 18322-7753; http://www.zionulc.com/
Read statements of welcome that have been adopted by synod congregations and organizations.
Web Resources
ReconcilingWorks (http://www.reconcilingworks.org/): A national organization that works for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their church and congregations.
PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx?pid=194&srcid=-2): PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights.
Pennsylvania Conference of Bishops: An Open Letter in Support of Fairness for All Pennsylvanians
What Does the Bible Say about Hope, Homosexuality, Hospitality? (http://archive.oregonsynod.org/bookoffaith/hhh/index.html): A multimedia presentation by Bishop Dave Brauer-Rieke, Oregon Synod, ELCA.